BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair AB 1330 (Furutani) Hearing Date: 08/25/2011 Amended: 08/15/2011 Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 6-1 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: AB 1330 adds career technical education (CTE), as defined, as an option for pupils to fulfill the existing high school graduation requirement to complete a course in visual or performing arts (VPA) or foreign language, and requires school districts that elect this option to notify parents, teachers, pupils and the public, as specified, commencing with the 2012-13 school year. This bill requires the Department of Education (CDE) to report specified information related to these provisions to the Legislature by January 1, 2016. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund CTE courses Potentially significant cost pressure General* CDE reporting $22 $22 General *Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED. Existing law requires students to, among other requirements, complete the following courses in order to graduate from a California high school: 3 courses in English; 2 courses in mathematics; 2 courses in science, including biological and physical science; 3 courses in social studies, including: United States history, one semester of American government, and one semester of economics; 1 course in VPA or foreign language; 2 courses in physical education, unless exempt by law. AB 1330 (Furutani) Page 1 Additionally, existing law requires school districts providing instruction in grades 7-12 to offer courses that fulfill requirements and prerequisites for entry into California's public universities. The minimum course requirements for admission to the University of California (UC) and to the California State University (CSU), commonly known as the "a-g requirements" are: a) 2 years of history/social science. b) 4 years of college preparatory English or language instruction. c) 3 years of college preparatory mathematics (4 years recommended). d) 2 years of laboratory science (3 years recommended). e) 2 years of a foreign language (3 years recommended). f) 1 year of visual and performing arts. g) 1 year of college preparatory electives. This bill would allow school districts to add CTE as an option to fulfill the existing graduation requirement to take a course in VPA or foreign language, through a specified process. This option would become inoperative on July 1, 2017. Authorizing CTE courses to replace other courses in VPA and foreign language as graduation requirements could lead to local pressure to add new course offerings in that subject. CTE courses tend to be more expensive than other courses, due to factors such as equipment needs, so districts may incur costs as a result of this bill. The provisions of this bill are, however, elective and any new costs would be discretionary on the part of the local school districts. This bill requires the CDE to report to the Legislature, by January 1, 2016, the following information: 1) the number of pupils who took a CTE course in order to fulfill graduation requirements; 2) reasons given by pupils for choosing to enroll in a CTE course to satisfy a graduation requirement; 3) the type and number of CTE courses that were available for pupil enrollment; 4) the number of CTE courses that satisfied the subject matter requirements for admission to the UC or CSU; 5) the extent to which the CTE courses addressed local workforce needs; 6) the impact on VPA and foreign language courses that resulted from pupils choosing to enroll in CTE courses to AB 1330 (Furutani) Page 2 satisfy the graduation requirement specified; and 7) the annual pupil dropout and graduation rates for the 2011-12 to 2014-15 school years, inclusive. The CDE has indicated that the new data collection, certification, and reporting duties cannot be absorbed by existing staff. The department estimates that it would require a full-time consultant, a part-time education administrator, a part-time office technician, at at an annual cost of approximately $157,000 (General Fund). AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED: Proposed author's amendments would narrow the CDE reporting requirements. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS would specify that the bill would sunset in fewer than 5 years if the University of California doubles the number of A-G approved CTE courses in the foreign language category.